


Exchanging (Parenting) Ideals

by Djaeka



Series: Kwami (story) Swapping [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Adrinette, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, One Shot, Pre-Reveal Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Trading Stories, adrienette - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:48:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22405966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Djaeka/pseuds/Djaeka
Summary: Adrien’s week has been truly terrible and Marinette’s wasn’t much better. How is it possible that getting locked inside an empty classroom together is the best thing that could have happened?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Kwami (story) Swapping [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1590067
Comments: 22
Kudos: 338





	Exchanging (Parenting) Ideals

It hadn’t been a good day.

Which is why Adrien found himself hiding in the art room during lunch, listening to Plagg’s attempts to cheer him up with half an ear.

His friend meant well, but Plagg just wasn’t the best at encouraging people. Adrien’s lips lifted in a teary smile when the little kwami offered a bit of his cheese. And the smile widened when Plagg nuzzled his head in a rare show of affection.

But it didn’t change the fact that the person he really wanted affection from just wasn’t capable of providing it.

His father had missed another fencing tournament this week, not even bothering to attend digitally.

He’d cancelled their appointment yesterday to speak about allowing Adrien more control of his life now that he was nearing seventeen.

And today Nathalie had called to inform him that his father would be out of the country on his mother’s birthday.

Really, it hadn’t been a very good _week._

Which is why he was ineffectively suppressing his tears in a darkened classroom while everyone else enjoyed the warm spring sun outside. He’d even left his phone inside his locker so nobody could inform him of _anything else_ going wrong today.

Muffled voices filtered through the windows someone had left cracked and Adrien leaned back against a wall while trying to calm his breathing.

Adrien clapped a hand over his mouth, abruptly silencing himself as he heard the creak of the art room door. When the voices moved into the room, he ducked behind a large, partially finished mural nearby.

“Alya, I don’t understand why I have to come and get what Madame Bustier asked you to get. You’re already here, can’t you just find the canvas yourself?”

“Girl, you know I don’t really know what she’s looking for. You’re more of an artist than I’ll ever be.”

Adrien peeked around the side of the mural, noting that Marinette and her best friend had stopped between the door and the far wall, and were currently frowning in each other’s direction.

“Not that kind of art, why not ask Nathaniel?” Marinette folded her arms over her chest, tilting her head to the side.

“Lila said you’d be better at finding it, she knows how talented you are!”

Adrien stiffened in his crouched position and watched with wide eyes as Marinette unknowingly copied the movement. Even from across the room he could see the blood drain from her face.

“Lila asked you to have me find this?”

“Yeah! You know what, I’ll go grab her. That way she can tell us what Madame Bustier is looking for. You wait here.” Alya darted out of the door, leaving Marinette frozen in place in the middle of the room.

Marinette fidgeted the moment the door slammed shut again, clicking her bag open and sneaking glances at it. Looking around the room in what could almost be called panic, she seemed to make up her mind. She rushed the door but even Adrien could tell what the telltale click of the lock meant.

It didn’t seem Alya’s style.

But it was definitely Lila’s.

Adrien suppressed a sigh, frustrated with Lila’s continued attempts to mess with Marinette.

_Clearly nothing deters that girl._

It took him several moments longer than it should have to realize that Marinette being locked in meant _he_ was too.

Poking his head around the side of the painting once again, Adrien could see that she’d stopped her vain attempts to pull the door open and was currently pacing back and forth. Marinette muttered frantically to herself, glaring around the room.

Adrien sighed. With the rate she was looking around the room, it was only a matter of time until she found him. The back of the mural he was hiding behind was right next to the windows and she was bound to try them next since the door wasn’t an option.

Reluctantly rising to his feet, Adrien put a hand up. He wasn’t quite sure if his posture was greeting or surrender. But he pitched his voice in the hopes that he wouldn’t startle the poor girl too much.

“Hi, Marinette.”

A blood-curdling scream pierced the room causing Adrien to stumble backwards several steps and crash into the ground when his foot caught on a nearby desk.

“Okay, well that backfired,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his head where he’d caught the edge of a chair.

“Oh my god, Adrien! I’m so sorry!” Marinette rushed to his side, yanking her hands back just as quickly as she placed them on his body. “Oh my god you scared the life out of me!”

Adrien smiled painfully, sliding the hand in his hair down to the back of his neck. “Don’t worry about it, I’m sorry I scared you.”

Marinette clutched one hand to her chest, breathing wildly and keeping her eyes locked on Adrien as he stood and brushed his clothes off. He held a hand out, waiting for her to regain composure. She breathed heavily for several more moments before accepting the offer.

When they were both standing and relatively unscathed, Marinette began to fidget with her bag once more.

“What are you doing in here, Adrien?” Her shoulders dropped and she refused to look him in the eyes. Adrien’s lips pressed into a thin line and he looked at the nearby windows.

“I just needed some time to myself. It’s been kind of a hard week and I didn’t really want to see anyone.”

Marinette’s eyes immediately flew to his face, and she let out a breath that sounded like she’d been hit in the stomach. Adrien used one toe to poke at the paint splattered floor, watching the contrast of white and orange on blue and green.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry I intruded then.”

Adrien snorted and raised his eyes to meet Marinette’s once more. “Marinette, I know this wasn’t your fault. And I’m betting I know whose fault it was.”

“Not like I can prove it,” she responded, sounding bitter and frustrated. Adrien hung his head, nodding into his chest.

“Does anyone know you’re in here? Maybe someone will come get us out soon?”

Marinette shook her head, glancing at her bag once again.

“No, I don’t think so. Alya _did_ know, but I’m not sure if she’ll come back anytime soon. We’re probably going to have to wait until this afternoon when the late period art class starts.”

“How about your phone?” Adrien reached for his own device, remembering halfway through that he’d thrown it on top of his bag after Nathalie called.

Marinette rummaged through her purse, shoulders drooping when she came up empty handed.

“Dang it. I left it in my other bag.”

“Yeah, I bet mine is in my locker.”

Adrien watched as Marinette raised an arm to rub at her forehead before she forced a smile onto her face. “Well. Nothing we can do about it now.”

_Not without letting her see Plagg, in any case._

Meeting her grimace with one of his own, Adrien wished that he could justify transforming to get them out of the situation. But there was no akuma, and no emergency. Ladybug would kill him if she found out he’d compromised his identity just to get back a couple of hours lost to a school prank.

He settled into a nearby chair, smacking his forehead into the desk more forcefully than necessary. Marinette quietly slid into the one directly across from him.

Her voice almost a whisper, she leaned in to ask, “So why was your week so bad?”

“You don’t really want to hear about it. It’s not anything big, it’s just not a very good couple of days for me.”

Adrien jumped as a hand tentatively settled on his shoulder and he raised his eyes to meet Marinette’s earnest gaze.

“Adrien, if it’s bothering you enough that you were hiding in here during lunch, I want to hear about it. I’d like to listen if it will help.”

A fond smile stole across his face, crinkling his eyes in the corners. He nodded.

“It’s my father.” She made a noise that might have been concern, but not interrupting. He continued when she didn’t respond further.

“He just doesn’t seem to care how his behavior makes me feel. He doesn’t come to any of my activities, and he cancels all our plans together. And today his assistant told me that he’s not even going to be in Paris for my mother’s birthday.”

He hesitated. Was it too much to say more?

“I know she’s not here. But I don’t know what happened to her and it feels _wrong_ to just pretend she doesn’t have one. Like admitting she’s...dead.”

Adrien dropped his eyes, unable to keep looking into the depths of Marinette’s understanding and concern. Like an ocean he could easily drown in if he wasn’t careful.

Marinette’s hand hadn’t left his shoulder, and he hadn’t noticed until she squeezed it gently. He looked back up, eyes flitting around in an attempt to settle anywhere but on hers.

“I’m so sorry, Adrien. That’s really unfair of him to expect you to spend that time alone. You deserve to have someone to share that sadness with.”

His face must have shown his confusion, because she raced to explain herself.

“I mean, I know you don’t know what happened to her and you _certainly_ shouldn’t mourn someone when you don’t know, but you’re still allowed to be _sad_ that she’s not here with you.” Marinette ran out of breath toward the end of her sentence and all Adrien could hear in the silence that followed was her labored breaths and his own heartbeat.

His shoulders dropped as the tension of the week drained out of him. “Thank you, Marinette.”

She smiled brightly back at him in reply before taking her hand back. They sat quietly for some time, neither really knowing what to say to the other.

Marinette fiddled with her hands nervously and Adrien’s eyebrows drew together.

_It looks like she’s working up the nerve for something._

“Would um. Would you tell me about her?”

Adrien’s breath caught, stuck somewhere between his throat and his heart, squeezing his chest.

She looked up at him through her lashes. “You don’t have to if you don’t want.”

A hand lifted to his mouth as Adrien considered the request. Maybe it would help him. To remember when she was here and they were happy instead of feeling sad that she was gone.

Marinette settled her head onto her hands, groaning into her palms while Adrien thought.

“She loved flowers.”

Her head shot up, a light flashing in her eyes.

“She used to take me to the _Jardins des Plantes_ when I was little.” He smiled, remembering how his eyes had lit up in delight at the colorful blooms.

“My mother knew about every flower and plant we saw. She’d tell me about each one, and why she loved them. I’d point out the ugliest ones I could find, and mother would tell me why they were beautiful.”

A smile broke across Marinette’s face as she listened.

“She made everything beautiful. Even in the winter and when everything was dead around us, she showed me why it was worth loving.”

“She sounds amazing.”

A breath escaped him. “She is.”

Adrien traced invisible designs on the desktop, remembering the words his mother would use to describe the world to him and the wonder she gave him. He looked up, happy to see the sweet smile on Marinette’s face.

“How about you?”

“Hm?”

“Do you have any fond memories of your parents?” He grinned invitingly, hoping to return the kindness Marinette just gave to him.

“Oh. Of course, but you don’t want to hear those.” She waved her hand dismissively and Adrien tilted his head to one side.

“Of course I do. I’d love to hear a story from you.”

Marinette hummed, tapping one finger to her lips as she worried the bottom one.

“Okay. How about one with my dad, then. Ever since I was little, he would do these ‘daddy-daughter dates’ with me. He would ask me where my favorite place to go eat was at the time and then we would go get lunch. We’d spend the time talking and spending time together and it was one of my favorite things to do.”

A smile stretched her mouth, eyes far off in memories.

“I started really liking sushi a couple of years back. Even though it’s really expensive to get the good kind, he never makes me feel like I’m asking too much of him. We talk about school and friends and Papa tells me what kinds of things he loves about my maman.”

“It’s amazing to see how much they love each other. Even when they don’t actually say it. Papa’s eyes just _light up_ when he talks about Maman. I want to give that to my own children one day. For them to see how much I love their father.”

Adrien’s eyes stung, tears welling up. He knew his father loved his mother. But the way Marinette described _seeing it_.

Well. He’d only ever seen that in pictures.

“That sounds wonderful.”

Marinette jumped several feet in the air, almost as if she’d forgotten he was there. Her face flushed and she looked pointedly away from Adrien. He allowed the quiet to settle for a few moments.

When he spoke, it was barely audible.

“I think I’d like to do that, one day.”

Marinette looked up from where she was fanning her face. “Hm?”

“When I have kids. I hope I have a little girl.”

Adrien looked up in time to see her eyes widen.

“I want to take her on daddy dates, and tell her that I love her and make her feel special.”

He could almost see it. A beautiful little blond girl with vibrant blue eyes, holding his hand as they walk down the street to a restaurant that she got to choose.

He’d smile brightly down at her and tell her she was the most beautiful little girl he’d ever seen.

He wanted to sit in a quiet corner with her and let her smush his cheeks in her chubby little hands and tell him that her mommy is prettier than him, and they would laugh until their sides hurt.

And when they came home he would kiss the mother of his child and when she would ask their little girl how their date was, she would yell about how it was the best _ever_ before running away to leave him with his wife smiling at him adoringly.

Just like the smile Marinette wore currently.

Adrien slowly came back to the present as Marinette reached across the table, taking his hand in hers, and staring at him with the sweetest smile he’d ever seen anyone wear.

And as she began to take her hand back, he tightened his grip. Marinette stilled, meeting his gaze as Adrien gave her a slow, affectionate smile of his own.


End file.
